Moving to CA. Many questions!

[crane]

i have browsed the sticky threads and it sounds like getting your license may be abit of work. i have already initiated that process and hope i am one of the lucky ones who is expedited.

the next thing is finding a job. i am looking north of SF maybe santa rosa area. does anybody have any ideas on jobs or the job market itself?

i am currently a RN in vail, co on a med/ surg unit. i am looking to make the switch to critical care of some sort and thinking i will take a staff position to ease in the switch. any info on that as well?

any information is desired. thanks for your help and time.

[NickiLaughs, ADN, BSN, RN]

If you look through the threads, you will see that the Bay Area is perhaps, the hardest job market in the entire United States. Santa Rosa is about 45 minutes north of the bay area, and that area may be a little less saturated. I'm not certain how much experience you have, but even experienced nurses often have trouble finding work in their specialty, and often an even harder time trying to switch. I would definitely advise finding a job prior to moving. There are many heart breaking stories of nurses on here who have moved and ended up broke, jobless and having to relocate because they did not already have a position lined up.

Good luck to you.

[Faeriewand, ASN, RN]

I second the thought. Get a job first. I think the job market in Santa Rosa would be saturated as well because everyone from the Bay Area would be putting in applications over there. But maybe it would depend on your experience, if you already had a CA license, how well you presented etc. Good luck! :)